Beauty Within Aging Persons: Age Gracefully, Not Falsely

Each day there is a new cream or spray, soap or body lotion claiming to make your skin younger and healthier. At the end of the day I see friends, family and neighbors a few more dollars broke, a few wrinkles older and a few steps slower. With all of the propaganda geared towards looking younger and being healthier it is no wonder why the middle age and senior generation are so worried about their appearance as they approach the golden years.

Although a beauty cream may firm up your skin during the day, what happens when that cream suddenly begins wear off as you eat your dinner and get ready for bed? The lines get deeper and you become saddened at the sudden onset of age, over and over again each and every night. The depression gradually begins to set in; you go to the store a few days later looking for the latest in age defying skin care. Soon, you are looking young again, your face firm and happy. A new bounce in your step as the appearance of youth will often bring. And then the cycle begins to wear thing as the miracle cure for wrinkles begins to fail your face again. The mirror becomes an enemy. Soon the make-up is caked on so thick you appear like a clown in the circus, but to yourself you begin to feel youthful again.

Another enemy of the aging woman (or man for that matter) is the ever-popular hair dye. Magically those wispy strands of gray hair are transformed into colors of youthfulness and vitality, rejuvenating your soul. And then the weeks wear on and the dye begins to fade, those dreaded strands of gray slowly emerging from the layer of color. The difference between dye jobs becomes shorter as the gray becomes a less workable hair, the dye no longer wanting to attach itself at all. Eventually the hair begins to thin out, thanks to all of the years of mistreatment, and there is no gray left to dye. There are thin patches that must be styled right, or the appearance of becoming bald begins to step in.

Through the make-up, hair coloring, lotions and creams you are winning. Fighting the race against time, winning, becoming a younger, more youthful person. What happens when nothing works anymore? There is nothing more upsetting to see than a little old lady trying to win the race against time. Caked in make-up. Streaks of color throughout her hair, hoping the color will distract from the gray. Perfumes she has soaked her body in, trying to erase the scent of aging. And still, she is trying to win the race.

Instead of aging falsely, become one who ages gracefully and naturally. Allow your body to go through changes that are natural. You will still find yourself a little older and a little slower. Time though will be spent on enjoying your golden years with your family and friends, playing with the grandkids, taking vacations, and loving life.